Infectious Disease Flashcards
What did Semmelweiss suggest all nurses and doctors should do?
Wash their hands
Bacteria produce poisons that make us feel ill. What is another name for these poisons?
Toxins
What do viruses do to cells?
Viruses damage cells when they reproduce
How do white blood cells help defend against pathogens?
- They engulf the pathogen
- They produce antibodies
- They produce antitoxins
What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a dead or inactivated pathogen
What do vaccines do?
A vaccine stimulates antibody production
What are antibiotics used for?
Antibiotics treat bacterial disease. They only kill bacteria, they will not work for a disease caused by a virus.
If an antibiotic is used too much, what may happen to the bacteria?
The bacteria may develop resistance to the antibiotic. This means the antibiotic will no longer work.
How do bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics?
Bacteria mutate and then natural selection means only the mutated bacteria, with an advantage, will survive and reproduce.
What does MMR stand for?
Measles, Mumps and Rubella.
Uncontaminated cultures of micro organisms are required for studying the effects of disinfectants and antibiotics. How would you do this?
- Sterilise the Petri dish and culture media to kill any unwanted micro organisms
- Transfer the bacteria using a sterile inoculating loop (pass the metal loop through a flame)
- Stick down the lid of the Petri dish with tape to prevent micro organisms entering from the air
In school we can only incubate micro organisms at 25oC. Why is this?
To prevent unwanted growth of pathogens which may occur at higher temperatures, eg 37oC which is body temperature
In industry microorganisms are grown at temperatures above 25oC. Why is this?
Microorganisms will grow faster at higher temperatures. However if it gets too hot the microorganisms will be killed.
What do you call a microorganism that causes disease?
A pathogen
